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Jab or no job VII: Bethel police officer faces termination for not accepting injection

Suzanne Downing
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Jab or no job VII: Bethel police officer faces termination for not accepting injection

This is the seventh in a series of stories of people losing their jobs because they have declined to take the required Covid-19 vaccination. The identities of these workers are being kept confidential because they fear reprisal. More stories will be included in future editions of this series as it continues this week. Previous interviews in this series are listed at the bottom of this story. Send your story to [email protected].

Bethel has a chronic police shortage. The city of 6,470 souls, on a good day, has trouble finding people to serve in law enforcement. The police department, always in recruitment mode, has a women and Native preference hire policy, and it’s now requiring all officers and staff to be vaccinated for Covid-19. That narrows things in a town that is a hub community for Western Alaska.

The vaccine mandate policy went into effect for all city workers on Sept. 27, and since then, Investigator Vincent Garay has been cooling his heels back in Wasilla, where he lives when not on his two-week shift. Half of the Bethel Police force lives out of Bethel, and several live in Georgia or Minnesota.

Garay, who immigrated from the Philippines decades ago, has served in law enforcement for 27 years. Last year, he joined the Bethel police force after serving as the chief of police in Fort Yukon. Much of the work in Bethel policing consists of dealing with drunks, drugged-out people, and domestic violence, but his work covers the gambit; earlier this year he was giving a commendation award for giving rides at a carnival in town so children could see the inside of the police car.

But as a devout Roman Catholic, he is declining to get the vaccine and he filed for a religious exemption. One of his colleagues asked for a religious exemption as well and was granted one. Garay’s request was turned down. Garay thinks it is because his colleague is nondenominational, while as a practicing Roman Catholic, Garay thinks his request was denied because the Archdiocese of New York has given approval for Catholics to take the Covid-19 vaccine.

Garay says it doesn’t matter what the New York Archdiocese says on the vaccine, or what the Pope says, for that matter. Garay believes that because the development of the vaccine used aborted fetal tissue, he won’t have it injected into his body. It’s contrary to his pro-life beliefs, grounded in his faith. He basis his belief on the New Testament Revelations 13 and the “mark of the beast.”

The mandate came down a few weeks after an initial action two months ago by the police department. All employees were divided into lists of “vaccinated,” “unvaccinated,” and “declined to say.” Garay declined to say.

Those in the category of “unvaccinated” or “declined to say” were mandated to be tested for Covid every time they started their two-week rotation.

But then came the new mandate covering all city employees: Vaccinate, or be placed on administrative leave for seven days, without pay. If the employee still refuses, he or she will be placed on 30-day administrative leave. After that, they won’t be scheduled to work; essentially, they will be fired.

Garay was placed on leave; his gun and badge were taken away from him. That’s never happened to him in his entire law enforcement career.

As of the Sept. 27 deadline, six City of Bethel employees faced being fired for refusing the vaccine. Before that deadline, seven police officers were not vaccinated, but now all but two have gotten the vaccine. One got a religious exemption, but not Garay. His was denied on Sept. 29 by the city’s Human Resources director.

Garay is not quitting. He will require the City of Bethel to fire him, if it comes to that. Four other employees of the city face firing, which is 5 percent of the city’s workforce.

“It’s about conviction,” Garay said. “I was born in the Philippines. I am Filipino Roman Catholic, ultra conservative. I don’t even eat an hour before receiving Holy Communion.” Garay has also asked for a medical exemption because of a severe allergy to aspirin. Although the vaccine for Covid doesn’t contain aspirin, he is taking no chances. His doctor would not sign the form after testing him for antibodies, so he withdrew his request for a medical exemption.

In addition to its hiring preferences for women and Natives, the Bethel Police Department posts itself as an Equal Opportunity employer, respecting all aspects of religious beliefs:

“In accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Pub. L. 102-166), all applicants for employment with the City of Bethel shall be afforded equal opportunity in all aspects of employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, gender, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, disability, political affiliation, genetic information, pregnancy, parenthood, veteran status, or any other status or condition protected under federal, state, or local laws.”

Jab or no job VI: Nurse at Alaska Regional says she is seeing too many blood-clot related hospitalizations among vaccinated

Read: Part 1: Nurse losing job, after her medical exemption refused

Read: Part II: Pharmacist losing job

Part III: Southcentral Foundation employee losing job Oct. 15 over shot refusal

Part IV: Dozens of Alaskans come forward to tell their stories of being fired for not getting the shot

Part V: Military man getting discharged in Alaska for not taking jab

Part VI: Nurse says she sees too many blood clotting cases associated with jab, so she’s not taking it

Read: Doctor says hospitals are not in crisis, not rationing care

Read: My doctor fired me because I won’t take the vaccine

Daniel Smith: An optimist hopes Anchorage Assembly will vote down mask decree

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Daniel Smith: An optimist hopes Anchorage Assembly will vote down mask decree

By DANIEL SMITH

I like to think I am an optimist. Based on the overwhelming testimony I have heard against the proposed Anchorage Assembly ordinance AO 2021-91, I am optimistic that it will fail, as there are many things more dangerous than the Covid-19 virus, which has a 1.6% mortality rate for the entire population. For those under the age of 19, their Covid virus survival rate is 99.997% if untreated.

I want to believe the authors of the ordinance are just misinformed or unaware of these statistics. I’m clinging to the remote possibility that the writer of the ordinance will withdraw it before she rips this city to pieces, leaving a permanent scar on the history books that will be written about how Anchorage reacted to the Covid virus.

I am optimistic that there will be some acknowledgement of the physical and mental damage that has been done to our children who suffer through every day at Anchorage School District schools, wearing masks 6 to 7 hours a day. Perhaps they just need to be reminded of Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Anne Zink’s position on mask problems when she summarized the ill effects of breathing through a warm moist mask for hours on end day after day.

I would like to think that the passing of this ordinance won’t eventually lead to mandatory vaccines when the masks don’t work, as we have seen in this community and around the world.

I would like to think that hospitals and employers in general will stop using coercion and threat of termination to compel doctors, nurses and everyone to accept an injection that does not stop the spread of infection.

I’m optimistic that mandatory vaccines won’t lead to vaccine passports required to travel, like is being done in Canada and many other places ,or to enjoy the things like dining out or going to any public space as New York or to put our children in public schools, like they are doing in Los Angeles.

I’m hopeful that lockdowns will not be reinstated when the mask mandate proves ineffective. I’m optimistic that our freedom will not be restricted as it has been in Australia, and that our police force will not use rubber bullets tear gas and mace in the name of health and to keep us from gathering in public, moving about freely and venturing more than three miles from our homes.

I’m extremely optimistic that science will prevail and the ineffectiveness of a mask to stop a virus will be recognized and that Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine will return to our pharmacies in Anchorage, as they are both proven therapies that keep Covid patients out of the hospital.

I’m really optimistic that natural immunity will be recognized for the superior protection that it provides against infection compared to current so called vaccinations and endless booster shots.

Being a generally positive person, I’m bothered a bit by the pessimism of this ordinance. This mask mandate has revealed an inherent distrust and dislike of the citizens of Anchorage by its authors. The authors might amend out the provisions that would turn neighbor against neighbor, but it is too late. In case there was any doubt, they have now been exposed for the pessimistic tyrants that they are. The authors are convinced that they know what’s best for the people who elected them to serve. I’m reluctantly optimistic that they will listen to the contrary view points expressed by their constituents.

If this was the only example of their behavior I would be more positive about the expected outcome of these assembly hearings and their intentions. But there are other measures and ordinances they put forth to transfer power from the executive branch to the legislative. They would vote themselves even more power than that, if they thought they could. I am unable to express much optimism that their thirst for power will be quenched any time soon. Ultimately however, I am optimistic that the security, integrity and faith in our election system will be restored and they will be replaced. I am optimistic because the majority of people in Anchorage elected Dave Bronson as our mayor!

The mask mandate is the first step down the slippery slope of tyranny. I would like to think that the Covid virus will someday go away and that elected officials and bureaucrats will stop using it as an opportunity for political gain. I continue to hold out hope that it will not lead to an irredeemable amount of authoritarianism.

Even if this ordinance passes, I am optimistic that the negativity behind its creation will fail. As I listened to the vast majority of testimony from the people of Anchorage against this ordinance, I am certain that this run at tyranny will fail, freedom will prevail and I am extremely confident the people of Anchorage will not comply with a medical device mandate issued by the tyrants who wrote it and those that might vote for it.

There are two kinds of people in the world, pessimists and optimists. The pessimist says “It can’t get any worse!” And the optimist replies. “Oh yes it can!” I guess by that definition I am indeed an optimist. I am sure that others are as well. Let’s stop the Anchorage authoritarians’ efforts right here and right now.

Dan Smith is a lifelong Alaskan and Anchorage resident. Public hearings on the mask decree continues at the Loussac Library on Monday, Oct. 4, at 6 pm.

Dan Smith: Done with our Anchorage Assembly trial subscription to tyranny and socialism, and am ready to cancel it

New Yorker arrested in the case of Nancy Pelosi’s laptop, and she’s not Alaska woman whose Homer home was raided by FBI

Suzanne Downing
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New Yorker arrested in the case of Nancy Pelosi’s laptop, and she’s not Alaska woman whose Homer home was raided by FBI

A case of mistaken identity earlier this year led law enforcement officers to search and damage the home of Marilyn and Paul Hueper in Homer.

The couple was shocked and mystified that the federal agents left with their electronics, such as laptops, phones and tablets. Federal agents were convinced that Marilyn was the person who stole House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Jan. 6 incursion into the U.S. Capitol by protesters of the Electoral College certification. They even told her so.

In the botched raid, the FBI broke through their door and, along with Capitol Police and other law enforcement, held them at gunpoint for hours before telling them what they were searching for: The Pelosi laptop. They took the Heuper’s copy of the U.S. Constitution with them as evidence against Marilyn Hueper.

The photo of Marilyn Hueper in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, on the left, and Maryann Mooney-Rondon, inside the Capitol, on the right.

Now, the Justice Department has unsealed charges against a New York mother and son, who is also accused of stealing an escape hood from the Senate Chamber and entering House Speaker Pelosi’s conference room on January 6.

Maryann Mooney-Rondon, 55, and her son Rafael Rondon, 23, were arrested Friday and appeared in Syracuse, New York before a judge, charged with helping to steal Pelosi’s laptop. Agents reportedly seized a sawed-off shotgun in the dwelling of Rafael Rondon during their arrest of the two. The two were released on pre-trial conditions.

The Watertown, N.Y. mother has admitted to helping steal the laptop by giving gloves and a scarf to a man who actually stole it, according to reports from Syracuse news media, whose source material were unsealed court documents. The son is also charged with stealing an “escape hood” from Pelosi’s office. Escape hoods have respiratory filters that give members of Congress about 30 minutes of protection from certain contaminants.

The most serious charge is obstructing an official proceedings. The six other charges are misdemeanors: theft of government property, entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, illegally entering and remaining in the Gallery of Congress, illegally entering and remaining in areas of the Capitol Building; and disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building.

Breaking: FBI breaks into Homer, Alaska house, looking for Nancy Pelosi’s laptop

Read: Add Homer raid to list of times feds botched a raid in Alaska

Since the federal raid of her home in Homer, Marilyn Hueper has been added to the TSA no-fly list and has said she feels targeted by law enforcement in her own home town, where she was stopped and accused of driving under the influence this summer, a charge she said was motivated.

Alaska Airlines to require injections for all employees

Suzanne Downing
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Alaska Airlines to require injections for all employees

Alaska Airlines will require all employees to take injections of Covid-19 vaccine in order to keep their jobs.

The Seattle-based airlines has not set a firm date for when the requirement will be in effect, but said in an email to employees of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air that they must either take the injection or receive an exemption from the company.

Those with an exemption granted may be required to be tested weekly for Covid or may be assigned different work environments, such as being segregated from other workers. Those who are not willing to take the injection will likely be given unpaid leaves of absence before being “not scheduled” for duty.

The company blames the new rule on the Biden Covid-19 vaccine mandate and says that it has numerous contracts with the federal government, which makes the mandate applicable to the company.

Anchorage budget will reduce spending by $7.5 million, and stays below tax cap

Suzanne Downing
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Anchorage budget will reduce spending by $7.5 million, and stays below tax cap

The shocking part of the Anchorage budget submitted by the new mayor is just how much was spent during the Berkowitz Administration. In short, spending exploded.

The Dan Sullivan Administration, which lasted from 2009 to 2015, left the Ethan Berkowitz Administration with an $18.1 million surplus over the 12 percent of savings known as the “fund balance.” That is the amount the city is required to have to cover bonds.

But the Ethan Berkowitz Administration in its six years spent it all down and then some. It left the Dave Bronson Administration an $18.9 million deficit in that fund balance this July, when Bronson took over. That’s a $37 million swing from a surplus to a deficit position in savings required by bondholders.

While spending went up by 20 percent during the Berkowitz Administration (including the eight months when Austin Quinn-Davidson was acting mayor), Mayor Bronson proposes to cut $7.5 million out of the next budget cycle. And there will be another $1.2 million in reductions in enterprise services; those are rates people pay that are governed by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

During the Berkowitz spending growth years, the Municipality of Anchorage’s population decreased from 299,330 to 285,400 residents. The Bronson Administration said it believes government should begin right-sizing unsustainable spending to reflect the decreases in population that have occurred.

“Upon taking office, my administration has been working to stabilize Anchorage’s fiscal future to ensure we steady the growth in government spending, right size our services through efficiencies, and better delivery of government services to the taxpayers and the residents of Anchorage,” said Mayor Bronson. “This budget reflects months of work across all departments to evaluate our programs and explore all possibilities to maximize savings. As a result, I sincerely believe we are on a strong glide path to a more effective and efficient MOA while maintaining the services Anchorage has grown to expect.”

“Now is the time to act, to eliminate the level of uncertainty Anchorage residents and taxpayers have felt for years. This budget is a call to action for us. I will continue to seek a decrease in government spending and seek to take the burden off the tax cap for all people of Anchorage,” Bronson said.  “We don’t want our children and grandchildren to have to pay the debts incurred today.”

The 2022 proposed budget is $550 million, a reduction in spending from the 2021 actual spending.

These reductions were achieved by implementing efficiencies in operations and eliminating a number (53 total) of non-essential positions, including 34 vacant positions and 19 currently occupied positions, the Mayor’s Office said. People in positions subject to elimination will have the opportunity to obtain employment with the Municipality of Anchorage.

Key items of interest in Mayor Bronson’s 2022 budget:

  • Core services remain intact (police, fire, health, streets plowed)
  • A focused effort to reduce the debt that has incurred over the past five years
  • Reducing the property tax cap burden
  • Not issuing more debt than is being paid off
  • Reduction of government administration
  • Seeking federal reimbursements for previous disaster spending

Municipality of Anchorage Plan Moving Forward:

  • Maintaining the AAA bond rating
  • Eliminating unnecessary and burdensome government policies, regulations, and practices
  • Reducing the cost of government services to the taxpayers through the consolidation and streamlining of services.

Click here for the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget

Threats against mayor are rampant on Twitter among Alaska leftists

Suzanne Downing
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Threats against mayor are rampant on Twitter among Alaska leftists

Threats are being made online against Mayor Dave Bronson.

Among the worst of the threats came from a Twitter thread of comments started by Olivia Garrett, who was a legislative aide for Sen. Scott Kawasaki in 2017 and was at the center of a “me too” scandal that took out the career of Democrat Rep. Dean Westlake. She later was a organizer with the Alaskans for Bernie Sanders and was a 2016 delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Garrett wrote that the mayor of Anchorage needs to be dragged from his house.

“My grandpa did not spend the last weeks of his life alone, scared, and begging the nurse for his wife over and over just so we can do anything less than drag this man from his house,” Garrett said, commenting on an Anchorage Daily News story about Mayor Bronson and his stance against universal masking of Anchorage residents.

Others chimed in. One associate of Garrett’s said that Garrett should delete the message because it advocates violence. She retorted that she’ll cyberbully anyone she wants. There was an F-bomb involved in her retort.

Another man said dragging Bronson from his house was not enough.

Yet another Twitter user said, “I may disagree with Mayor Bronson, but I will fight to the death to defend his right to be dragged from his home by 1000 Kriner’s diners, and left to die, panicked and gasping, of COVID-19 without hospital care b/c of the fucking health hazard he just let run unchecked”

Even the @JamieRecall Twitter account got in on the act.

An account run by CeciliaB.Demented wrote, “Nope. This man is willfully killing people. Straight up. He is using his power, position, and money to kill people. Dragging him out and running his out of town on a rail is getting close to being the only option.”

“it’s fine to say you want to see mayor bronson sodomized to death with a bayonet like gaddafi,” one Twitter user offered.

An account run by Mark Springer, formerly chair of the Marijuana Control Board who is s running for reelection to City Council in Bethel, wrote “His [Bronson] is a face of pure, unadulterated evil.”

The eighth floor of City Hall has also been subject to threats and Municipal Manager Amy Demboski said security measures are now being taken and upgraded, although she declined to elaborate. But there have been incursions from people trying to barge into the mayor’s office. Once, she had to use her body to block a man at the mayor’s conference room door.

The mainstream media has focused its attention on protesters of the proposed Anchorage universal mask law, after they wore yellow stars to protest fascism, which they feel begins with things like Anchorage Ordinance 2021-91, which gets people to report to authorities on those who disobey the mask law. The media has ignored the actual threats of violence against the mayor, however.

Helpfully, reporter Sam Davenport had a suggestion for the violence frenzy, telling people the best thing for their mental health was to not watch the Assembly meeting:

Journalists Dave Hulen of the Anchorage Daily News, and Daniella Rivera, formerly of Alaska’s News Source, focused on the protesters and how tough this all is on journalists, with a dog-whistle to the Twitter mob:

Anchorage Assembly hears overwhelming testimony against ‘Meg’s Mask Decree,’ and then tries to stop the public from speaking

Suzanne Downing
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Anchorage Assembly hears overwhelming testimony against ‘Meg’s Mask Decree,’ and then tries to stop the public from speaking

In a third night of testimony, the Anchorage Assembly continued to get an earful about a proposed mask ordinance, that would require all in Anchorage over the age of 2 to mask up — or else. The “or else” part depends on people ratting each other out to the authorities and facing fines of $300 for a first offense.

The Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel proposed penalty for not wearing a mask would also to have a smudge on one’s record for creating a public health nuisance. All of this has been cooked up by the leftist on the Assembly, led by Zaletel, who is refusing to show up to meetings until everyone is masked, and properly spaced to her satisfaction.

At least 40 minutes of the Thursday meeting was spent in parliamentary procedural disagreements, as Assembly Vice Chair Christopher Constant repeatedly attempted to prevent Assemblywoman Jamie Allard from asking questions of the testifiers. Constant said was purposefully trying to slow things down. Allard responded with her own parliamentary procedures, trying to override Chairwoman Suzanne LaFrance, who was siding with Constant.

Constant’s word of the night was “dilatory,” the purposeful delaying of the proceedings.

The matter kept being referred to the Assembly’s Attorney Dean Gates, who was befuddled and unable to answer the questions being asked of him on the ruling of the chair; Chair Suzanne LaFrance sided with Constant at every turn.

In the end, the Assembly had burned up more on the clock debating whether asking questions of the testifiers was dilatory than they would have if they had just allowed Allard to ask the questions, which is a long-standing practice in the Assembly.

Constant and Kameron Perez-Verdia also tried to limit the way that testimony was given, saying that many of them strayed off the topic of the mask and into things like vaccines. Only 35 people were allowed to testify on Thursday in a meeting that stretched six hours.

Assemblywoman Crystal Kennedy argued that the “Whereas” clauses in the ordinance were so sweeping, that people should be allowed to testify on any range of topics that were covered by them, but the leftists on the Assembly continued to interrupt testimony, saying it was not relevant.

Although the testimony was passionate, it was not as raucous as the nights prior. The line remained long at the end of the meeting, which was continued to Monday night at 6 pm for still more testimony.

The reason Chair LaFrance stopped kicking people out of the chamber for clapping is because the Assembly’s attorney advised her to stop doing it. Unlike previous nights, LaFrance on Thursday asked people to stop clapping but she refrained from having security guards remove them for clapping, or having police trespass them off the public property. The attorney warned LaFrance she was infringing on the public’s constitutional rights by throwing them out of the meeting and would not win in court, should someone sue her.

A three-minute clip from the last piece of testimony of the night from a cancer patient’s perspective is a must-see, as Mayor Dave Bronson intervenes to ensure the woman can finish her heartfelt, difficult testimony (many more clips of the week’s testimony at the Must Read Alaska Facebook page:

Speaker Louise Stutes fears going to Juneau because of Covid, wants governor to cancel Special Session on supplemental dividend, fiscal solution

Suzanne Downing
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Speaker Louise Stutes fears going to Juneau because of Covid, wants governor to cancel Special Session on supplemental dividend, fiscal solution

Speaker Louise Stutes sent a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Friday saying that it’s not safe to be in Juneau because of Covid-19, and therefore she wants the Special Session, due to start Monday, to be cancelled.

In reality, Juneau is the home of some of the most Covid-vaccinated people in America, and may be the safest place in the state for lawmakers. But Stutes doesn’t want to risk it.

According to the most recent data available from the New York Times, 89 percent of Juneauites over the age of 65 are vaccinated for Covid-19, while 77 percent over the age of 18 are vaccinated for it, and 76 percent of those over the age of 12 are vaccinated.

Stutes said in her letter, “Alaska is currently experiencing its highest infection rate-the most per capita in the nation-of the COVID-I9 pandemic. You have wisely safeguarded the health of departmental employees by directing them to work from home until further notice, yet you ask that 60 legislators plus staff return to Juneau to conduct in
person proceedings. Including partisan and support staff, the health of hundreds of people will be put at risk to address items that we have yet to gain consensus on. Cost is another factor that should be considered. it would be incredibly costly to the state to engage the legislature for yet a fourth special session,” she said.

Stutes said in her letter that the supplemental dividend is not important enough to call a special session:

“Throughout the year. we have worked in good faith towards a fiscal plan and that will continue regardless. A special session is not necessary for the legislature to continue its work. Committees can continue hearings. have ample time to involve the public. and craft good public policy that has been well vetted. The legislature has passed a balanced budget, avoided burdening Alaskans with taxes, and provided an $1,100 PFD. Legislators are dedicated to achieving a complete solution and we will continue to work diligently towards that end,” she wrote.

Juneau rates itself in the “red” zone for Covid. CovidActNow, a group whose board members include Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins, rates Juneau’s risk as “very low” and at the same time says the risk is “severe.” Kreiss-Tompkins told the Legislature in 2020 that Covid would be a die-off event for Alaska, with tens of thousands of deaths.

Juneau’s vaccination rate is higher than the top cities like Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland. Juneau’s Bartlett Memorial Hospital has open beds in all departments, according to the most recent State data:

Win Gruening: What will it take to get a reliable, efficient ferry system?

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Win Gruening: What will it take to get a reliable, efficient ferry system?

By WIN GRUENING

The Alaska Marine Highway System continues to struggle with declining ridership, reliability, and reduced funding. There is no shortage of opinions about what should be done. 

For years, coastal communities became accustomed to regular ferry service to any port that wanted it – whether the traffic supported it or not. Unions continued to extract more benefits and higher wages – whether warranted or not. When Southeast population began slipping and ridership declined, state subsidies continued to balloon, and fares had to increase. 

It was a vicious cycle and it had to end. It finally did when Gov. Dunleavy was elected. His proposed cuts to the ferry system were not popular and arguably not implemented very well, but they were necessary. Today, while the system is currently operating with less than half the fleet it once had, communities are still getting service, albeit with less frequency.

In 2019, a study commissioned by Gov. Dunleavy concerning future operations of AMHS suggested folding AMHS into a public corporation. But without systemic changes, re-creating AMHS as a public corporation is akin to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Ferry advocates’ insistence that Alaska’s “roads don’t make a profit” and reduced ferry service is like “shutting down the Parks Highway” is a faulty comparison. 99.5% of Alaska’s vehicular traffic occurs on roads and over 80% of the highway operations/maintenance budget is offset by users through gas taxes and other fees. 

Those choosing to live in coastal communities must face the facts: ferries historically have moved less than 1% of vehicular traffic with only 30% of the operational costs paid by users and 70% subsidized by state general funds.

Throwing more operating money at the problem will only help perpetuate the current inefficiencies and expense drivers that threaten to sink the system today. 

AMHS’s biggest cost drivers are labor and fuel. If the system is ever going to operate at acceptable service and subsidy levels, then these costs must be addressed.

Ironically, these issues were tackled over 40 years ago when AMHS was still in its infancy. In 1977, as part of recommendations for the Southeast Alaska Transportation Plan, the Southeast Conference unanimously endorsed a plan that eliminated double crews on most vessels by operating mostly shuttle ferries. A mainline vessel would run north to Ketchikan then on to Juneau and return south. Shuttle ferries would then run from Juneau and Ketchikan to outlying communities. This “hub and spoke” system, combined with extending roads where possible, promised to improve flexibility, reduce labor costs, and fuel costs by operating smaller more efficient day ferries.

Unfortunately, the plan was never implemented except in a limited way with the Alaska Class Ferries, the Tazlina and the Hubbard. Yet, plans are now underway to add crew quarters to these vessels, totally reversing their efficiency advantage.

Meanwhile, environmental activists and ferry unions have deliberately stalled meaningful road projects that would have made AMHS more efficient and sustainable.

This is why AMHS is in the predicament it is today.

There’s no reason the State cannot update, finalize, and implement a shuttle ferry plan similar to the SATP in Southeast Alaska and parts of Southcentral Alaska. This still makes sense even as some routes, such as cross-Gulf or to and from Bellingham, and ports in SW Alaska may require larger mainline vessels.

There is also no reason our state should not build roads where they make sense.

The Environmental Impact Study for the proposed Juneau Access project connecting Juneau and Haines incorporating these concepts estimated a fare of $21 each way for vehicle and driver. Other examples include completing construction of road projects from Kake to Petersburg and Sitka to Warm Springs that would lower user and system costs and improve AMHS efficiency and reliability. 

Those are the kind of public transportation improvements that can be realized with a day-shuttle ferry operation coupled with a road extension.

Another proposed plan involves building a new ferry terminal north of Juneau at Cascade Point, shortening the Northern Lynn Canal ferry route 30 miles and reducing one-way sailing times by approximately 2.1 hours.

Contrary to claims by road opponents, these initiatives have not suffered from a lack of transparency or public input. The most recent two-decade effort to implement day ferries and a road extension in Northern Lynn Canal is evidence of that.

If we want a reliable, efficient ferry system, it’s time to try something different. What we are doing now isn’t working and hasn’t worked for a long time.

After retiring as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in Alaska, Win Gruening began writing op-eds for local and statewide media. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is involved in various local and statewide organizations and currently serves on the board of the Alaska Policy Forum.

Read: Ranked choice voting is not that simple

Read: Population, population, population

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